THE BALLPARK — Anyone who says there's no crying in baseball likely hasn't watched a player learn his big-league dreams have come true.
Most Major League Baseball promotions take place behind closed doors, and it's really not since the rise of social media that we've seen these moments. Oftentimes, a minor league manager sits a player down in their office to deliver the news. It's usually a joyous and emotional moment — a culmination of years of hard work to join the game's premier league.
Los Angeles Angels prospect Chad Stevens had a much more public call-up while with the Salt Lake Bees last week.
Stevens was at third base during a road game at Tacoma when he was suddenly pulled from the game with two outs in the bottom of the second inning. Fellow infielder Yolmer Sánchez jogs up and offers a hug while saying something to his teammate before taking his place on the field.
It was ULTIMATE hug watch when infielder Chad Stevens found out he was headed to the @Angels in the middle of the @SaltLakeBees game: https://t.co/yvpcdbJPBWpic.twitter.com/O4K73JaPpp
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 4, 2025
The 26-year-old runs off the field with a smile, where he's greeted with more hugs and high-fives from his coaches and teammates in the dugout. Infielder Niko Kavadas is seen on the broadcast pumping his fists in the air in celebration while others cheer as they know the former 11th-round draft pick is finally headed to the big leagues after 4½ minor league seasons.
What happened is Angels infielder Christian Moore — who himself was called up from the Bees just a few weeks ago — had gotten injured earlier in the evening. When the Angels realized it was severe enough to put him on the injured list, they decided to select Stevens' contract — all of this taking place while the Bees were playing.
Stevens was quickly on a flight from Tacoma to Atlanta and then Toronto on the following day. The whirlwind experience only got better when he collected his first MLB hit off future Hall of Fame pitcher Max Scherzer on Saturday.
"It's pretty unbelievable," he told MLB.com after his first hit. "I mean, that's a Hall of Fame guy out there. So to be able to get my first one against him, it feels great."
The whole experience proves how unpredictable a big-league call-up can be.
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