The journey to Major League Baseball hasn't been easy for Cam Vieaux. But finally, after seven long years, he finally made it.
There wasn't much to celebrate during the Pirates' 2-0 loss to the Giants on this Friday night at PNC Park. The offense mustered only two meager singles against Carlos Rodón and Camilo Doval. But even in watching a sometimes-painful display of baseball, there was a special moment to take in.
After Zach Thompson issued his fifth walk of the game in only 4 1/3 innings of work, Derek Shelton called on Vieaux to handle the top of the Giants' lineup with a runner on first trailing by two. He quickly recorded his first out in a big-league uniform, but then allowed his first hit to Mike Yastrzemski to put two on with two out.
Trying to keep the game within striking distance, Vieaux recorded his first strikeout, getting Evan Longoria to chase this pitch:
That was a nasty. No doubt. But look at that reaction from Vieaux's father.
Seriously, watch it again.
"It’s pretty insane," Vieaux said. "It worked out well that it’s Father’s Day weekend and I could get him something for that. I jokingly said, ‘Come out and act like you’ve been there before.'
"I’m so glad he did that. It’s awesome. He rarely ever shows emotion. I’ve never seen him act like that. That was pretty cool."
Vieaux has spent the past seven years pitching primarily as a starter in the minor leagues after being selected in the sixth round of the 2016 MLB Draft. The list of players that make it to the big leagues at 28 years old and have a successful career isn't incredibly long.
That's a moment well worth a display of emotion.
But this moment wasn't solely about finding success, even though Vieaux did add on a perfect sixth inning to give Shelton five much-needed outs from the bullpen.
"He executed pitches, moved the fastball around, threw his breaking ball a couple times behind in the count," Shelton said. "Overall, a really good first impression. What we heard about how he pitched in Indy, he came out and pitched like that."
After posting a 6.01 ERA and 1.50 WHIP between Class AAA Indianapolis and Class AA Altoona last year, Vieaux has bounced back after permanently shifting into a relief role, posting a 2.93 ERA and 0.93 WHIP in 18 appearances with Indianapolis this season. With a bullpen that owns some promising arms such as David Bednar and Wil Crowe, Vieaux is aiming to come in and give the Pirates a reliable left-handed reliever.
"Just been hammering fastballs lately, kind of letting my offspeed play off of it," Vieaux said. "Really throwing every pitch as hard as I can with conviction in the zone."
Time will tell if Vieaux can become a long-term option in the bullpen. For now, Vieaux, his father and his family will just enjoy this moment.
"It’s been a long time coming. Just grinding through it," Vieaux said. "It really hasn’t even set in yet. It’s been a crazy 24 hours to say the least."