KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Brooks Baldwin was at Lowe’s with his mother Tuesday, looking for items to fix a screen door that their dogs had damaged, when he received a text from Triple-A Charlotte manager Justin Jirschele.
“(He) was asking if I was fishing today,” Baldwin said Friday afternoon. “I said no. I sent him a text back and a couple of minutes went by, so I called to make sure everything was all right.”
More than all right.
Jirschele put Sox director of player development Paul Janish on the phone, and they informed Baldwin that he was being promoted to the majors.
“I don’t really know what happened after that,” Baldwin said. “I was kind of in shock and couldn’t really talk back. But after a couple of minutes, I was able to say thank you and it’s a great opportunity.”
Baldwin made his major-league debut for the Chicago White Sox on Friday, going 1-for-3 in a 7-1 loss to the Kansas City Royals in front of 26,693 at Kauffman Stadium.
“It was a lot of fun being out there for the first time,” said Baldwin, who batted eighth and played second base.
Baldwin knocked a 1-0 cutter from Michael Wacha to right field for a single in his first major-league at-bat in the third inning.
“Pregame we talked about a lot of sequences and stuff, and he kind of tried to set me up first pitch with the fastball and then come back in with a cutter,” Baldwin said. “I saw it pretty well and was able to put a good swing on it.”
Before the game, Baldwin said the opportunity “means the world to me.”
“Growing up as a little kid, this is what every baseball player dreams of,” Baldwin said. “To do it as quick as this, it’s very special. Very unexpected at this time.”
Baldwin has a combined .324/.391/.460 slash line with 19 doubles, eight home runs, 41 RBIs, 33 walks, 40 runs and 17 stolen bases in 82 games this season between Double-A Birmingham and Charlotte.
“Even going into spring training, I didn’t really expect to start in Birmingham,” Baldwin said. “And grateful that I did. It was a great group of guys we had in Birmingham. That’s part of the reason I had such success was the coaching staff and the players. We were very close.
“Even the coaching staff in Birmingham, they were like part of the team, part of the players, and I think that’s why I was able to relax and play the game I know how to play.”
The switch-hitting Baldwin is tied for sixth in the minor leagues in hits (102), and his .322 average with Birmingham still leads the Southern League.
“My pitch selection has been a little better this year,” he said. “And getting better pitches to hit and not chasing as much. I’m really aggressive at the plate most of the time and I still have that aggression, but laying off pitches early has been the biggest (reason for the offensive success).”
He hit safely in six of eight games after being promoted to Charlotte, going 10-for-29 (.345) with three doubles, two homers and four RBIs.
“Charlotte was a lot of fun,” Baldwin said. “I was able to get to a little bit more hitter-friendly park, and some of those balls you hit in Birmingham that were caught in front of the track go out. It’s a lot of fun just being able to get through and play the game.”
Sox manager Pedro Grifol said Baldwin looked calm during his first game.
“I like his approach at the plate,” Grifol said. “Took some good pitches. His bat stays in the strike zone a long time. He’s got that line-drive swing, which is something we like. He ran the bases extremely well.
“He looked like he belonged out there.”
Throughout the night, Baldwin took a lot away from his first taste of the big leagues.
“It wasn’t really a completely different game,” he said. “It’s the same exact game I’ve always been playing. And things are a little bit faster, so you kind of have to slow the heart rate down and let the game come to you.”
Baldwin’s debut came in the first game after the All-Star break for the Sox, which played out like several games before the time off.
The Sox couldn’t slow All-Star Bobby Witt Jr., who had three hits — including a solo home run — and two RBIs. Witt’s homer came in the first. His two-out RBI single to center in the third made it 2-0.
The Royals took advantage of four walks — one intentional — during a five-run fifth. Starter Chris Flexen allowed seven runs on four hits with five walks and four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings as the Sox (27-72) lost their fifth straight.
They are a season-high 45 games under .500.
