NEW YORK (AP) — Brendan Beck received a call from his minor league manager, telling him to meet in the hotel lobby. A short while later, the 27-year-old pitcher hopped into a car for a ride to the big leagues.
“You always want it to happen and you think it’s going to happen, but it’s when it actually does, it’s kind of just still a dream,” Beck said Thursday after tossing three innings for the New York Yankees in his major league debut, a 9-2 win over
Texas.
“Now it’s something that I’ve done and I can picture that moment and being out on the field and out there with the guys and take that back and now really get to work.”
Beck learned Wednesday before Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's 11 a.m. game at Worcester that a call-up was possible but not definite, getting word from manager Shelley Duncan, pitching coach Spencer Medick and bullpen coach Pete Larson. Beck had to cope with the uncertainty.
“Just a lot of sitting around and trying to keep my mind distracted,” he said.
New York waited until evening to make the decision, and Duncan summoned Beck to the lobby at about 8 p.m.
“`Hey, pack your bag,'” Beck remembered the manager telling him.
Beck left at around 9:30 p.m. and reached The Opus Westchester hotel in White Plains, New York, about midnight.
“So many moving pieces, yeah, and just phone calls and texts,” he said.
Beck pitched at Stanford just after brother Tristan, a 29-year-old righty who made his major league debut with San Francisco in 2023. Their mom, Lucy, is a Stanford graduate as is their sister, Meghan.
Selected by the Yankees on the second round of the 2021 amateur draft, the California native signed for a $1.05 million bonus, then had Tommy John surgery and didn't make his professional debut until June 2023.
He missed 2024 because of another elbow injury that required surgery, started 2025 at Double-A Somerset and was promoted to Triple-A last June. Beck finished 13-5 with a 3.36 ERA in 24 starts and two relief appearances, striking out 123 and walking 36 in 131 1/3 innings.
He pitched for Britain in this year's World Baseball Classic along with his brother. Brendan Beck went 2-2 with a 5.11 ERA in seven starts at Scranton this season before the call-up.
“Been through a lot of stuff, but I think everyone kind of has obstacles that they have to overcome,” Beck said. “Luckily, I was able to overcome mine.”
When he walked into the Yankee Stadium clubhouse, he was greeted by infielder Max Schuemann, a Scranton teammate this season.
“It’s awesome to see a familiar face in Beck,” Schuemann said. “I understand what it’s like to be called up. I know there’s a lot going on.”
Beck's mother and father, Ryan, took a red-eye to get to New York and watched his debut along with his sister and his wife, who drove from Scranton and beat him to the Big Apple. The Giants gave a day off to his brother, who is assigned to Triple-A Sacramento, and Tristan also was at Yankee Stadium.
Beck entered to start the second inning following opener Paul Blackburn, who made an emergency start because Ryan Weathers got sick this week and lost nine pounds. Beck allowed two runs, two hits and three walks in three-plus innings, throwing 28 of 52 pitches for strikes.
“I definitely wish I could have commanded the zone a little better,” he said.
Beck averaged 92.1 mph with 29 four-seam fastballs and threw 18 sliders, three curveballs, one splitter and a sinker.
“Walked a few guys and some of the hard contact found gloves, which was good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “But he looked in control out there and gave us just what we needed.”
Beck was optioned back to Scranton after the game and didn't travel with the team to Milwaukee. He planned to have dinner with family and friends.
“If everyone’s willing to have me,” he said.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
