Pitcher becomes 5th Edmonton baseball player to appear in major leagues

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Erik Sabrowski in MLB action against the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 4, 2024. (Credit: Bally Sports Cleveland)

Wednesday night in Kansas City, Erik Sabrowski's dreams came true.

The Edmonton-born baseball pitcher played in his first major-league game, appearing in one-and-one-third innings in relief for the Cleveland Guardians, allowing one hit and striking out two batters in the host Royals' 4-1 win.

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Sabrowski struck out the first batter he faced, Royals pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel, to close the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium before pitching the entire eighth inning.

"It felt amazing," Sabrowkski told Bally Sports Cleveland after the game in an at-times emotional interview.

"I just kept telling myself, 'Stay ready, stay ready, my time was going to come,' and fortunately, it happened tonight."

The Guardians called up Sabrowski, who pitched for the Edmonton Prospects in 2017, to the majors from their Triple-A affiliate in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 28.

His step-father told media in Edmonton on Thursday it was exciting and a relief to see Sabrowski make it to a major-league mound as he and others watched the game.

"A lot of fist-pumping, a lot of high-fiving, a lot of hugs followed by some tears afterwards, tears of joy, obviously," John Fiacco said.

Had Tommy John surgery twice

The 26-year-old, who joined the Guardians organization three years after he was taken in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres, has had so-called Tommy John surgery twice, most recently in 2021 as he started playing pro ball.

The procedure is performed to repair a torn ligament on the inside of an elbow to secure the elbow joint and is named after the major-league pitcher who 50 years ago this month first underwent it.

John had been pitching in the majors for 12 years when he had the surgery and returned to action almost two years later. He went on to play 14 more seasons and, after retirement, worked in broadcasting and coaching, including a stint with the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers in the early 2000s.

Sabrowski started the 2024 pro baseball campaign in Double-A Akron and, after posting a 0.77 earned-run average (ERA) and striking out 54.2 per cent of the batters he faced in 11.2 innings over nine games, was promoted to Triple-A, where he posted a 4.38 ERA and struck out 31 per cent of the batters he faced in 37 innings of work over 27 games.

St. FX Academy grad

Sabrowski grew up playing ball in the Edmonton area, including at the academies at St. Thomas More and St. Francis Xavier in the Edmonton Catholic School Division, for which Fiacco is superintendent of educational planning.

Sabrowski graduated from high school at St. FX in 2015.

Brad Wolansky, director of the St. FX baseball academy, said watching Sabrowski make it to the top level serves as an inspiration for young local ball players.

"It's huge for a guy who came through the program," Wolansky said. "Everybody is buzzing about it, and it's awesome to see the kids understanding what's going on."

According to Baseball Almanac, Sobrowski is the fifth player from Edmonton – out of 12 Albertans and 265 Canadians – to play in the majors, including Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Rob Zastryzny, 32, who broke into the 'bigs' in 2016 with the Chicago Cubs.

The others:

• Pitcher Mike Johnson appeared in 81 games, 32 of them as a starter, in five seasons in MLB from 1997 to 2001, four of them with the Montreal Expos;
• Dave Shipanoff appeared in 26 games as a relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1985;
• and Vince Barton trotted out to right field in 95 games over two seasons with the Cubs in 1931 and '32.

Wolansky said, while he didn't have exact numbers off-hand, more and more ball players from Canada each year are making their way into pro baseball.

"There are a lot more Canadians getting into the major leagues, a lot more Albertans getting drafted every year," he said. "You can see the growth of it at the higher levels in some places."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Galen McDougall